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Secret Farm Bill from Secret Santa?

Congressional leaders in search of a compromise to avert the “fiscal cliff” are under growing pressure from advocates for subsidized agriculture to attach a $1 trillion farm bill to legislation ostensibly designed to straighten out the nation’s finances.

What a lump of coal for taxpayers!!

Only in Washington could some political leaders propose to bypass the floor of the House of Representatives and attach a $1 trillion farm bill – at a cost higher than the Affordable Care Act – to a measure designed to reduce the federal deficit.

Congress should pass only a responsible one-year farm bill extension that finally ends the subsidies known as “direct payments” – and then fully examine the costs of the current crop insurance program and the potential price tag of proposals to provide new insurance subsidies and price and revenue guarantees. That would be a real gift to taxpayers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has taken the unprecedented step of issuing a policy statement that calls on the government, schools, parents and medical professionals to take concerted action to protect children from pesticides. Read more at EnviroBlog.

A Huffington Post column by EWG staffers has more on the steps consumers can take to avoid toxic chemicals in their food.